Actors Who Almost Starred in Emmy Hits

It's hard to imagine Friends without Jennifer Aniston or Breaking Bad without Bryan Cranston, but that nearly happened. Television producers go through dozens of casting options before finding the perfect fit. Here are some actors who came close to lead roles on shows that went on to become Emmy favorites.

Almost Casted Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Rosie O'Donnell, Megan Mullally, and Patricia Heaton were all

considered for the role of Elaine before Julia Louis-Dreyfus got the role. The three actresses were a talented bunch — all went on to win Emmys. O'Donnell won six Daytime Emmys (1997-2002) for her talk show, Mullally won two Primetime Emmys (2000, 2006) for "Will & Grace," and Heaton won two (2000, 2001) for "Everybody Loves Raymond." Louis-Dreyfus hasn't done too badly, either. She's the only woman to have won three Emmys from three different shows: "Seinfeld" (1996), "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2006) and "Veep" (2012).